1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to equipment for binding books and the like and in particular to a press for applying a relatively large compression force to a stack of sheets so as activate a pressure sensitive adhesive so as to bind the stack.
2. Related Art
Photograph albums are becoming more popular, particularly with the advent of digital photography. One conventional approach is to secure the individual photographs in a pre-bound album having individual sheets to which the photographs are attached using adhesives and the like. The advantage of this approach is reduced costs at the expense of appearance. It is also possible to produce a photo album using commercial binding techniques to provide a more attractive product, but at a very substantial cost.
A typical commercially bound photo album, without the hardcover, is depicted in FIGS. 1A-1C of the drawings. An exemplary photograph 20 to be bound is shown in FIG. 1A for producing the bound album. The photograph 20 includes a central score line 22 to facilitate folding the photograph. Thus, for an album that is approximately 4×5 inches, the photograph 20 should be 8×5 inches. Multiple images can be placed on the photograph using photo editing techniques, taking into account that the photograph will be folded in the center. Images are printed only on one side of the photograph 20. The album shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C includes a total of three folded photographs 20A, 20B and 20C to provide a total of four album pages. One half of photograph 20A forms one page, with the other half of photograph 20A and half of photograph 20B forming a second page. The remaining third and fourth pages of the album are formed from the second half of photograph 20B and photograph 20C. The photographs 20A, 20B and 20C are each folded so that the images of each photograph face one another. The three photographs are secured to one another by way of two layers of adhesive 26 which attach the non-image side of the photographs together.
The three photographs are bound together, as represented by symbol 24, using conventional commercial binding techniques. Typically, the pages are bound together using an adhesive, with a reinforcing cloth present to add strength. These techniques are suitable for accommodating photographs which, as compared to sheets of paper, are relatively thick and rigid, particularly at the regions where the photographs are adhered together. The final album, with added hardcover, is attractive but very expensive and is thus usually reserved for wedding albums and albums for other special occasions.
Another conventional binding approach is illustrated schematically in FIG. 2 where four individual photographs 28A, 28B, 28C and 28D are bound together using a conventional binder strip applied using a conventional desk-top binding machine. As explained in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,052,873, a stack of sheets of paper can be bound using a binder strip that includes a layer of heat activated adhesive. The stack is inserted into the binding machine, with the machine functioning to apply the binder strip to the stack edge and to apply heat so as to activate the adhesive. Once the adhesive has cooled, a hardcover can then be applied to the bound stack. The same approach can be used to bind photographs, with numeral 30 representing the binder strip adhesive. This approach provides an attractive photo album at a very low price compared to the previously described commercial binding techniques. However, since each page includes only one photograph having an image on one side only, the back of each photograph can be observed by a viewer. This is a disadvantage in some applications, particularly when photo paper information or the like is printed on the backside of the photo. It would be possible to glue the back of two photographs together to provide one album page for each of the two photographs. However, because each page includes two photographs, the pages would be relatively thick and rigid. Such pages are not ideal for binding using the binder strip.
Epson American Inc. markets a product under the name “Story Teller Photo Book Creator” which is schematically depicted in FIG. 3. The product includes a bound stack of plain sheets which are bound together using conventional binding techniques represented by adhesive 30. Only a single complete bound plain sheet is depicted, with that bound sheet including a binding section 38A and a detachable section 40 separated from the binding section by perforations 42. The remaining bound sheets include bound sections 44B, 44C and 44D, with the associated detachable sections being previously removed by the end user. The plain sheet formed by binding section 38A and detachable sheet 40 has the same approximate dimensions as the photographs so that, among other things, the plain sheets 38/40 can be used to align the photographs with respect to the associated binding sections. Also depicted are fly leaves 34A and 34B which are also bound together with the sheets. The bound combination is provided with a hardcover which includes front and back cover sections 36A and 36B connected together by an intermediate spine section 36C. Each binding section 38A, 38B, 38C and 38D has an associated strip of pressure sensitive adhesive, including respective adhesive strips 44A, 44B, 44C and 44D. Each strip of pressure sensitive adhesive was originally covered by a release liner, with the liners having been previously removed during the assembly process.
The end user secures an individual photograph to each of the bound sheets by first positioning the photograph, photograph 46A for example, over one of the complete bound sheets which would include, for example, binding section 38A and attached detachable section 40. Once the photograph is aligned, the associated release liner is removed, with the user maintaining the photograph in proper alignment, thereby exposing the underlying pressure sensitive adhesive, such as adhesive 44A. The user then presses the photograph, such as photograph 46A, against the adhesive thereby securing the photograph to the binding section 38A. The user can then, if desired, remove the associated detachable sections, such as section 40. A significant disadvantage of this approach is that, as is the case of the FIG. 2 prior art embodiment, the back sides of the photographs are exposed to the viewer.
A still further prior art approach is shown in FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C and 4D. This approach is marketed by ZoomAlbum, LLC under the name ZoomAlbum. As described at www.ZoomAlbum.com the user purchases photographic album paper which includes several individual sheets arranged in a single larger sheet. The larger sheet of photographic paper also includes various layers of pressure sensitive adhesive (not depicted in FIGS. 4A and 4B) which are presumably covered by separate release liners. Using software provided by the manufacturer, the user inserts the larger sheet of photographic paper in an ink jet printer, with the software allowing the user to locate individual images on the individual sheets of the larger sheet. Once the images are printed, the user reconfigures the large sheet, presumably using suitably located perforations and/or score lines, to arrive at a final assembly 48 as depicted in FIGS. 4A and 4B. The exemplary assembly 48 includes individual images 54A-54L applied by the printer. The images are separated by what appears to be folding cuts 50A-50E which permit the assembly to be folded at the cuts so as to provide a clean outer edge for each page of the album. The images are also separated by scribe lines or the like 52A-52F which also permit the assembly to be folded, with the scribe lines 52A-52F functioning as hinges when a user views the individual pages.
As previously noted, the assembly 48 includes various layers of pressure sensitive adhesive presumably covered with some form of release liner so that the adhesive can be exposed when required. As can be seen in FIG. 4C, pressure sensitive adhesive layers 56A-56L function to secure the back side of the image sheets together, with FIG. 4C illustrating the adhesive layers before they are forced together. By way of example, layers 56B and 56C secure the rear of the sheets carrying images 54B and 54C together so that the two image sheets form a single album page, with an image on both sides. When the ten image sheets are secured together in this manner, a total of five album pages 54B/C, 54D/E, 54F/G, 54H/I and 54J/K are produced as indicated schematically in FIG. 4D for the depicted exemplary embodiment in an open position. As also shown schematically in FIG. 4D, the folded edges 52A-52F come together to form a relatively continuous spine edge 58 which extends between front and rear cover sections 36A and 36B.
One shortcoming of the prior art approach of FIGS. 4A-4D is that specialized photographic paper having precut sections and pressure sensitive adhesives must be used. Further, it appears that size of the individual photographic images is limited since all of the images for a single book have to be printed on a single sheet.
There is a need for a relatively low cost approach for binding photographs and the like using desk-top equipment that produces an attractive bound volume having an appearance that approaches that of a commercially bound album. Such an approach would preferably not require the use of special photo-paper. As will become apparent from one skilled in the art upon a reading of the following Detailed Description of the Invention together with the drawings, the disclosed invention addresses the above-noted shortcomings of the prior art in addition to providing further advantages.